Emerald City
by Sprinkle of Fanfic
Summary: She felt like she was drowning in Emerald City. AH. Usual pairings. Rated M just in case.
1. Chapter 1

It was inexplicable how quickly everything had gone down the drain.

Surely, I rationalised, it had to be some kind of a trick.

I clutched onto the letter as if it was my lifeline, as if letting it go would mean I would die.

I knew I would eventually have to get up and function, but in that moment it felt as though the devil himself was sitting in the corner, triumphantly appraising the heart he had just ripped out.

I closed my eyes to stop the pain and the anger and disappointment.

My head spun in a manner reminiscent of vertigo and I could feel myself holding back a lump in my throat from turning into the tears that would permanently stain the letter.

And then it all stopped.

 _Numbness, my old friend._

 _You have been missed._

* * *

Intrigued?


	2. Chapter 2

_**Before**_

I sat on the edge of the cliff and closed my eyes.

I had spent so much time doing this that it felt more natural than sleeping did.

The wind caressed my hair with the pretence of soothing me, but its strength rippled against my body, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand.

I didn't care.

The roughness was welcome.

Anything in this place was welcome.

As long as I got to be away from Charlie. There's only so many bottles of tequila I can handle being thrown at me.

I don't care.

I can feel my phone in my pocket and despite it being on silent I can somehow feel the screen light up with Alice's name asking where I am.

I don't care.

The sound of a bird momentarily distracts me from my thoughts. I open my eyes to stare at its tiny form skipping around before being eaten by the cat that hid in the shadows moments earlier.

I don't care.

The blood from my cut trickles down my arm and only then does it register that it hurts.

It stings. The wind is making it sting even more.

I don't care.

I don't care.

I don't care.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Before**_

"That was depressing to watch."

The voice cut through my train of thought. An unwelcome interruption.

My head whipped back. "What?"

Bronze hair. Emerald eyes.

Dressed in all black.

He clicked his tongue piercing against his teeth.

He may as well be holding up a poster saying 'I'm trouble.'

"The bird," he replied, cocking his head to the side, silently telling me to follow his gaze.

I nod and turn back to stare at the water.

I don't hear anything for two whole minutes before I hear his shoes crunching against the ground.

The noise gets closer until I feel him sit next to me.

I sigh. "Can I help you?"

He ignored my question, but his eyes must have caught the blood that was still running down my arm. "Whoa," he said. I turn toward him. "Do you realise you're bleeding?" he points to my arm with his.

An intricate tattoo is carved into almost every inch of his left arm.

"No," I deadpanned.

He snickered. "Not much of a talker, are you?"

My reply is silence.

Maybe if I close my eyes hard enough he'll go away.

"What do you like to do in your free ti-"

"Apparently I look like the type of person who likes to be endlessly irritated during the only quiet time I get," I said as I started to walk back towards my car.

It became hard to focus on his reply when the throbbing got unbearable.

I drove to the hospital with one arm.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Before_**

"Did he have nice eyes?"

Alice, my overly-zealous best friend had been interrogating me about the Emerald stranger for the entire hour I'd been over at her house doing homework.

"Sure," I muttered, trying to focus on my analysis of 1984. I wished I could just write 'A rip-off of Yevgeny Zamyatin's 'We'' and be done with it.

"Okay but what about his hair? Was it long or short? Messy?" The last question made her so excited she actually bounced on the bed, causing the dot over my 'i' to become a squiggle. I frowned.

"You ruined my notes, Alice."

She waved me off and stared at me expectantly.

"Green eyes, short bronze hair, messy, tall," I recalled from memory. Pause. "A tattoo."

This excited her. "That's so hot. Where? What was it?"

"It was a sleeve," I could feel Alice's squeal coming on. "His tongue was pierced, too."

Alice giggled and then abruptly stopped. "Wait when was this again?"

"A week ago."

"Ewww," Alice groaned.

"What?"

She got off the bed and walked towards her bathroom. "I'm gonna go wash my mouth out with soap because I'm pretty sure I just swooned over my brother."

* * *

Thank you for the alerts/favourites, guys.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Before**_

I was convinced Alice was trying to prank me.

Initially I thought she meant her brother, Emmett. He was one of my best friends.

The first time that Charlie laid a hand on me, I ran over to Alice's, where Emmett had walked in on Carlisle trying to fix me up.

"What the hell?"

Emmett, despite what his size may suggest, is the softest and most kind human being I have ever met.

Their parents raised both Alice and Emmett to be protective of their family, and since that day they have both been regularly checking on me.

As soon as his eyes had landed on the bruise on my rib, Emmett's face turned to one of pure rage.

He ran off and only returned an hour later with a single cut on his eyebrow.

"Oh my god, Emmett, what happened?" Esme immediately reached for his face to examine it.

"I'm fine, ma," he looked at me, winking. "I ran into a window."

When I went back home two days later, Charlie was clutching his bandaged torso.

"A big asshole at the bar," he slurred when he caught me looking. "Bastard said something about an eye for an eye."


	6. Chapter 6

_**Now**_

I was back at the cliff.

It was Christmas time, a few months after the first meeting with Alice's elusive brother.

Edward.

 _"We're not very close," she had said the last time we spoke about him. "He went off to law school, although I'm not sure who'll hire him looking like that."_

 _I laughed. "Is he good at it at least?"_

 _She nodded. "Top of his class, apparently. Always has been, even when he was here."_

A family played near the sea at the bottom of the cliff. The little boy threw pebbles into the water. The further they reached, the louder he squealed.

The parents chased him when he tried to run towards the water, which just made him squeal and giggle. I smiled.

"Fuck, that's annoying."

I didn't have to turn around to know who it was, this time. "Most humans are predisposed to find that cute."

"It's really not," he muttered.

He sat down. "I didn't get to introduce myself the last time we met. I'm Edward Cullen."

"I know," I shook his outreached hand. His brows furrowed. "Alice."

Realisation danced across his face, relaxing it. "You told her about me?" he smirked.

"Yeah," I said. "I wanted to tell her about the annoying fly that keeps bugging me when I wanna be alone."

He laughed, and turned his head back towards the sea.

It was only then that I noticed the strong jaw he had inherited from his dad.

"This used to be my spot, actually. I'd come here when I wanted to get away from school a lot, but then I moved." He looked directly at me. An unpleasant memory seemed to tug at his face momentarily, but it was gone as soon as it came.

I think he's allergic to silence.

"So," he started what I could only assume would turn into a series of questions. "What's your name?"

Bingo. "Bella."

"Alice never mentioned you. When did you meet?" His voice had a little more than just curiosity in it.

I counted back. "A little over two years, I think."

My answer was met with silence. It was unnerving.

"Should I be offended that she hasn't talked to you about me?" I asked.

"No," he smiled. "She was trying to protect you from me."

* * *

I feel I should clarify the style of this story: there isn't one.

I don't want to confine the characters, the plot or myself to a chapter length. Some chapters may be longer, and some may be shorter. It depends on how much or how little needs to be said. All I know is that the _before_ chapters will be relatively shorter than the _now_ chapters.

Hope you're all enjoying it so far. Drop a review with any criticisms or things you may like so I know what to do and what to avoid.

See you in the next one x


	7. Chapter 7

_**Now**_

"We're home!" Edward yelled out as we stepped through the doors to the Cullen house.

We heard dishes clanking and an "Ow!" followed by Esme poking her head around the corner asking "who's we?"

Edward pointed to me and stepped into the kitchen.

"Bella! How are you, dear? Merry Christmas," Esme said as she enveloped me in a hug.

Emmett walked out of the kitchen holding his hand and making a sad face. "Mummy make a boo-boo."

I chuckled. "You are actually two years old, Em."

"I leave and you turn into a pussy, what the fuck man?" Edward shoved Emmett, who shoved him back hard enough to make him tip a little.

"How do you two know each other?" Emmett pointed at Edward and I suspiciously with a spatula covered in cookie dough, no doubt what got him in trouble with Esme. I couldn't help but notice that underneath the ever-present playfulness that was in Emmett's eyes, there was actual...concern?

I started to respond but Edward interrupted. "We ran into each other at the store and bonded over how none of you seem to have told her about me," he lied with an accusing glare. I'm glad he caught on to the fact that I didn't want them to know about my spot, but I suspected it had more to do with him not wanting his family to know about it than my desire to keep it a secret.

Esme stared at our empty hands. "Obviously not while buying anything," she said with a raised eyebrow. "And Edward you interrupted Bella, what did I tell you about that?"

"It's his degree, ma," Emmett rolled his eyes. "Thinks what he has to say is more important than anything anyone else might have to say."

Edward turned to me, grinning crookedly. "Can't argue with that," he said with a shrug.

"WHOA!" Emmett clutched his head as if he just had an epiphany and started pacing around the room, throwing a few more 'whoa's here and there. "Edward actually doesn't have an argument?! Oh this is truly a holy day," he crossed himself as everyone, including Edward, laughed.

I smiled in the corner, the weight of the letter pulling my heart down to the ground with it.

"Emmett that shirt is hideous," said Rosalie from behind me, making me jump. I didn't realise she was here. "I thought I told you to throw it out."

Emmett hugged his Bianca-Del-Rio-clad torso and cried out, "Hey you're not my real mum and you never will be!"

I could practically feel Rosalie roll her eyes behind me as everyone laughed at Emmett once more.

'You're not my real mum and you never will be' was a phrase he adopted from one of his favourite drag queens. This was after we caught him watching season four of Rupaul's Drag Race in his room. Rosalie, his girlfriend of three years, and the rest of the family never let him forget that they walked in on his dirty secret.

Emmett, being the confident goofball that he is, proudly quoted the show and has been regularly doing so ever since, making us all regret catching him in the first place.

"Come on, baby," Emmett inched closer to Rosalie with the spatula, as if threatening to smear it on her. "You wouldn't wanna be mad at your sexy boyfriend on Christmas now, would you?"

Rosalie glared at him, but she was struggling to keep it up. He melted her. "You're such an idiot. Come on, time to fill you up," she said with a pat on his stomach.

I had spent Christmas with the Cullens every year since I met them, but this was the first time Edward had joined us, though I was not sure why.

Carlisle, in true doctor fashion, had to work for a few hours, effectively missing three hours of the celebrations. Being a small town doctor didn't leave much leeway for days off. Anyone who was smart enough got out of Forks as soon as they turned old enough to be able to do so. This included several doctors who had received better offers elsewhere.

But not the Cullens.

They had lived in several big cities, but they always ended up back in Forks.

"It's home," Esme had said to me when I asked why they chose to come here over Chicago. "We missed the calm."

I was glad.

"Jake keeps asking me about you, Bells," Emmett said, making me groan. "I swear the way the idiot keeps talking about you is even making _me_ fall in love with you."

Alice giggled and turned to Rose. "Didn't he tell you he wrote her a poem?"

My mouth dropped open while Esme aww'd.

"Wow, someone has an admirer," Edward teased, bumping shoulders with me. Alice shot him a look.

"He's an idiot is what he is," I sighed.

Jacob Black.

The boy has had a crush on me for six solid years and, I suspect, has selective hearing.

Why?

He has continuously ignored every time I've told him I'm not interested. I have given him every gentle _and_ mean rejection one could give. One time I even printed off an article with the most cliché rejection phrases and stuffed it in his locker.

After lunch, he sat down next to me in class, boyish grin intact. I asked him if he got my letter, to which he replied he had before going on a thoughtful rant about how he prefers brunettes to blondes.

"I can take care of it for you, Bells," Emmett said, putting on his I'm-about-to-kill-someone face. It just made him look constipated.

I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my drink. "What are you gonna do, quote Drag Race at him until he cries?"

He looked genuinely offended. "Hell yeah! Every time he tries to talk about his love for you, I'll quote one of Bianca Del Bae's bitchy lines."

I choked on the water I was drinking. "Did you just call your hero Bianca Del Bae?"

Rosalie let her head fall on the kitchen counter. "I'm so breaking up with you."

"Who's breaking up with who?" Carlisle said loudly over all the laughter. He walked over and kissed the top of my head before doing the same to Esme.

"Rose with Emmett," Esme replied, kissing Carlisle. It made me smile.

"Nothing new there," he chuckled.

The meal was mostly spent making fun of Emmett, who sat and beamed at the attention while stuffing his face with as much as his mouth would fit at a time. Esme scolded him several times, telling him to leave some for the rest, to which he replied "no, I'm a growing boy, I need it more!"

I ate in silence, grateful no one had noticed my lack of participation. That is, until Emerald did.

 _When did I start calling him that?_

"You're quiet," he stated the obvious yet again.

"You're a regular Sherlock Holmes," I noted dryly, which made him chuckle.

"It wasn't a personality observation, this time. It was more of a mood observation."

"Same thing."

"Actually, it's not." Uh-oh. I've woken up Mr Lawyer, it seems.

"Actually, it is. If someone is quiet by nature, they generally tend to be quiet no matter what their mood is," I pointed out.

"Well aren't you a little ray of sunshine?"

I didn't reply.

 _Maybe once, but now I'm the sunshine covered by a dark cloud._

* * *

I sat on the piano bench and twirled the letter in my hand. The longer I held it the easier it became, but it was an agonising process, the relief slow.

My mother left Charlie and I when I was young. Her new husband, Phil, is a relatively successful real estate agent.

The day she left was the day that Charlie became a new person.

The first day he hit me was the day I stopped calling him 'dad.'

It was also the day that the whole town lost respect for him, the Cullens especially.

When the letter started to feel heavy again, I let my hand drop along with it, accidentally smashing it on a few keys.

"Shit," I hissed. I just gave away where I am.

"There you are," Alice huffed when she walked into the living room ten seconds later. "We've been looking for you everywhere!"

I apologised, but kept my eyes on the piano. I couldn't look her in the eye.

"What's that?" she asked while reaching for the letter. I flinched and put it back in my pocket. "Wait is that...did she answer?"

I nodded.

Her voice lowered. "Judging by the fact that you're sitting in a dark room alone on Christmas I'm assuming she said no?"

I laughed bitterly. "Dear Isabella," I read from memory. "While I love you and you know this, Phil and I will be moving to Europe for his work and if all goes well, we'll be staying there for a couple of years. I would offer you to stay in our home in the meantime, but Phil doesn't feel comfortable around strangers. I'll buy you something pretty to make up for it? Love, mom."

"Wow, what a bitch."

I sighed. "You got that right."

I applied to several universities, one of them a twenty minute drive from my mother's house. While I would love to pretend I'm excited about the prospect of endless sleepless nights spent analysing books I have yet to read, I'm mostly doing it to get away from Charlie.

Apparently several reports of domestic violence did not warrant an arrest, thanks to the fact that he's the Chief of Police.

How they let an alcoholic 'protect' the town I'll never know.

I didn't realise I was crying when Alice told me to let it out, I didn't refuse the hug Emmett offered me when everyone found us and I didn't notice Emerald standing in the corner until his eyes met mine with an intensity that would have made my knees weak had I not already been sitting.

* * *

Hope this wasn't too shitty. Review and let me know? x


	8. Chapter 8

"Eeeeeeeeee!" we all awoke to the shrill sound of Alice's squealing.

I rubbed my ear as I sat up in her sofa-couch.

"It's birthday time, people! Birthday! It's my birthday! Bella get up, it's my birthday. EMMETT STOP TELLING ME TO SHUT UP IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!" For such a tiny thing, she's louder than all of us combined.

Alice's birthday was a widely-celebrated occasion. Why? Alice seemed to invite every single person she had ever come across - possibly including strangers she had passed on the street that one time when she was two years old.

Their house is big enough to accommodate it, though. Everything Esme and Carlisle have ever earned in their relatively high-paying jobs around the country was pooled into this property.

The drive is a long, dwindling one, with a picturesque view of a seemingly never-ending forest surrounding both the road and the house itself. And yet, everyone knows where it is. A casual observer may say that the Cullens must really love their privacy, but their house says the opposite.

Glass. Everywhere.

Esme insisted on it. All rooms, bathrooms excluded, were covered in glass walls. She wanted as much natural sunlight as possible.

Carlisle told a story during dinner one time about how Emmett tried to convince Alice he was a vampire, going out of his way to find realistic-looking fangs in different lengths so that he could change them every so often to make it seem as if they grew.

After Emmett was done with his emotional confession, Alice apparently tapped her foot, raised her eyebrow and huffed. "Oh, please. The house doesn't even have walls to protect you from the sun. The only vampire who would live here is a suicidal one."

"Bella, Bella, Bella!" She skipped over to me. It never ceases to amaze me that there's so much space to move around in this house. I'm lucky to be able to breathe at Charlie's.

"I have your outfit planned, and you _will_ wear it," she added as soon as the glare overtook my face. "It's my birthday!"

I sighed, but gave her a quick smile to let her know I was on board. The one thing I could never argue with Alice on is clothes. Girl knows her stuff.

And she slaps if you don't obey her. Hard.

"Hot diggity _daaaaamn!_ " Emmett yelled out, earning him a smack from Rosalie.

"Ew, did you just check me out?" Alice's face could not look more disgusted as we descended down their, wait for it, glass staircase.

Emmett pretended to dry heave. "That's fucking- no! I was talking about Bella, you conceited little shit."

"Language!" Carlisle and Esme both yelled from somewhere in the house. No such thing as privacy with the Cullens.

"Well, then I agree," she said with a triumphant smile, and ushered us all towards the kitchen so she could overlook the gigantic spread Esme had cooked all by herself.

Carlisle and Esme had left the house in Alice's control and went to dinner and a movie so as not to make her friends feel uncomfortable. As if sensing this, people started arriving.

Alice gracefully made her way through the maze of a house and greeted everyone.

 _Charlie won't even refrain from yelling at me in public._

After what felt like the two hundredth person Alice introduced me to, I excused myself and went to her room to freshen up.

I closed the bedroom door and caught my reflection in the mirror.

My arm had mostly healed. The small bandage I used to cover it was removed by Alice dearest because "it clashes with the dress."

The dress was tight, with cutouts at the neck. It hugged my barely-there curves and accentuated my chest and ass. I was fairly certain it was slowly cutting off my circulation.

The heels we had an argument over.

 _"Alice these shoes are more expensive than my laptop. What if I ruin them?"_

 _"You let me buy you new ones," she said flippantly, as if I was talking about a packet of chips._

They were Louboutins, of course, with a red to black gradient patent leather and a ridiculously high heel.

Their redness was emphasised by the blood of my innocent toes.

I took them off and climbed into the bed to soothe my oncoming headache. I had just started to drift off when I heard someone come in. "Shhhh it's me."

Emerald.

It occurred to me that I hadn't seen him today. "Alice is gonna kill you for ditching," he swayed a bit and then looked longingly at the bed. "Can I sit?"

I nodded. "The music was too loud. Where have you been?"

"Here and there," he said with a wave of his hand as he sat down. "People were sexing in my bed."

I immediately got a whiff of vodka and whiskey. "You shouldn't mix your alcohol, it fucks you up."

He snorted. "Sorry, mom."

I closed my eyes and two seconds later heard and felt shuffling in the bed, followed by a dip right next to me.

I opened them after it stopped to find that Edward had climbed into bed.

Under the covers.

With his shirt off.

I swear I could see his toned biceps _through_ the covers.

"Um...Edward?"

"Mmm Swan," he said and then he fucking _snuggled_ into me.

 _Snuggled._

The heat from his bare chest was now pressed against my arm and chest. It was suddenly getting very hard to breathe right.

"Edward you're not wearing a shirt."

"Ifsh okay I'm shexy," he mumbled into my chest. Then he wiggled his head. On my chest.

"You're the breast. Swan."

Despite my best efforts, I laughed at the stupid pun.

"What the fuck?"

Will there ever be a time I can sleep peacefully at this goddamn house?

"Bella you're lucky your dress doesn't crease otherwise you would be extra dead right now." With voices like Alice's, who needs alarms? "Wait... _you brought a guy into my bed?"_

 _"_ BELLA HAS A BOYFRIEND!" Emmett ran into the room, only to have his hopes crushed by the sight of Edward's tousled hair. He got a glint in his eye, and as soon as it appeared he lunged towards the bed and threw himself on it before Alice could finish saying "NO!"

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Edward let out a puff of air as Emmett pretended to grind on him.

"You're breaking the bed!"

"If it can handle you and Jazz, it can handle us," Emmett had moved onto jumping

We heard a creak and then a snap.

The last thing I remembered was someone yelling my name.

* * *

So apparently this story got recommended on A Different Forest?

I actually couldn't believe my eyes when I read the email. Thank you so much to Tarbecca for recommending it.

Thank you for the reviews, guys. They're like a nice cold ice cream on a hot summer's day.


	9. Chapter 9

I dreamt of jumping off the cliff.

I dreamt of the feeling of the crisp, freezing water as it engulfed me and dragged me towards darkness.

Towards calmness.

Towards peace.

Then I was back at the cliff and jumping again.

And again.

Until the calm was interrupted.

 _Pain._

I woke up with an excruciating amount of pain in my head.

It took a brief disoriented scan of the room for me to realise I was in Emmett's bed, which confused me and made the pain worse. _Fuck._

"Who stabbed my head?" I asked with a wince, and then remembered I was alone in the room. "Aaand I'm talking to myself..."

Another wince.

Silence it is.

I looked around the room for my phone and then found it on the bedside table. The light that emanated from the screen momentarily made me wish I were blind.

 _Fucking ow._

I sent Alice a quick text letting her know I was awake, and what felt like a split second later, she flung open the door and squealed my name.

I don't think that being in a bunker near the core of the earth could have prevented the sharp pain that struck my head as soon as the sound made it to my ears.

"Alice. Head. Pain."

Her hands flew to her mouth to cover it and she mouthed 'sorry' about a billion times.

"How're you feeling?" she asked, quietly this time. "You don't have a concussion, thank god. Dad said you'd wake up in pain because of the slight bump on your head, but that you'll be perfectly fine by tomorrow. "

"Well, he's definitely right about the pain part," I groaned.

"I put water and advil next to the bed," Alice said as she pointed to the bedside table. I sighed with relief and thanked her as I downed the pills.

She then told me how bad Emmett felt. Apparently since he was leaning on the headboard while he continuously jumped on the bed, he managed to break it and it fell on my head - along with Emmett.

Of course this kind of thing would happen to me.

"He hurt Edward's shoulder as well, the elephant," Alice said with an eye roll.

Edward.

Shirtless Edward in Alice's bed.

Shirtless Edward in Alice's bed nuzzling my breast.

I pulled the covers closer as a shiver ran through me.

"Cold?" Alice asked, looking worried.

I somehow doubted it was from the cold, but I nodded anyway.

As soon as Alice told Esme I was awake, she came in with my favourite raspberry almond crumble and an apologetic Emmett in tow, who said 'sorry' while I ate the pie, after I'd finished it and for a little while after he kicked everyone out of his room so he could 'properly apologise for being a dickwad'.

It took a lot of convincing on my part to make him stop, and when he left the room, I fell back asleep.

Alice filled me in on the party when I woke up again.

Someone had broken one of Esme's favourite antiques, but she knew someone who could make it look like new so Alice only got half the lecture she would have gotten had it been completely ruined.

Emmett's definition of entertainment once again proved to be different from everyone else's.

One of Emmett's many childlike charms is his intense love for lip syncing. Of course, it's highly likely that this interest bloomed from his love of drag queens and the "legendary lip syncing skills of Detox."

When it was time to bring out the cake, which had been naively assigned to Emmett, he decided that the traditional way was "too mainstream."

He opted instead to secretly get a cake big enough to fit him and, in full drag, popped out and lip synced a jazzed up version of the happy birthday song he had found online.

"Hope it was worth it," Alice laughed, "Rosalie swears she's not gonna sleep with him for two weeks because of that."

I laughed along with her despite the pain. It was impossible not to.

"Where did he manage to find a cake that fit him?"

"Beats me," she shrugged. "Everyone was just glad I bought a back up cake."

I only half-listened to her while she listed all her presents and her reactions. I was trying, but although the pain had become a lot less prominent, it still hurt.

After we chatted for a while, she left with Jasper to run some errands so I padded downstairs to I could get some fresh air, hoping it would ease my headache.

 _Dear Advil, if you would like to do your job, that'd be great. Sincerely, fuck you._

The cold didn't hit me until I was too far from the house to bother getting a jacket. _Stupid, deceptive sunlight._

In the time that I'd known the Cullens, I'd become familiar with the forest that surrounded it, so I walked for a while.

Soon enough I'd reached a spot I had somehow never discovered before.

A meadow.

It was only when I walked through the trees and stepped onto the field of flowers that I realised someone had beat me to it.

"Please don't be a psychopathic murderer," a familiar voice rang out. _Edward?_

"Nah, I'm just a thief for now," I deadpanned, making his head turn back.

He laughed. "Glad to see you alive and breathing and still in possession of a head."

I nodded in agreement and awkwardly gestured to the grass, asking permission to sit.

"Of course," he said and moved slightly towards the right.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You know there's enough space for me to sit, right?"

He nodded, seemingly embarrassed. "I know, I just...instinct. You can't be Esme's son and not move aside to let a lady sit."

I snorted involuntarily. _Smooth._ "I'm hardly a lady."

He mumbled something that sounded suspiciously close to "I felt just how much of a lady you are yesterday."

Glad he remembers, at least.

"What was that?" I asked, hoping he'd repeat it.

He didn't.

 _Damn it._

"Is this your spot?"

"Yeah," he said as he looked ahead. "This is where I used to come during my teenage tantrums."

"It's a good spot. Hard to find."

"You're the first person to find me here, actually," he turned to me slightly.

"It's only fair, you found mine," I pointed out, making him scoff.

"Yours is one of the most popular places in this dump, anyone can find t."

I pretended to be offended. "Hey now, it's not like I sit out in the open where everyone jumps, I sit next to a few trees."

That made him laugh. "You would be a useless spy."

We argued over which one was better, and although I preferred his, I protected my spot's honour.

"I like to people watch," I explained in a poor attempt to justify my choice.

But to be honest, it was true.

Watching families play on the beach and reckless teenagers jump off the cliffs was half the appeal.

I made up stories for everyone I ever saw.

There was a boy who used to come a while ago with bright red dyed hair. I liked to think he had religious parents and wanted to rebel against them my dyeing his hair the colour of the devil.

As my thoughts drifted, an involuntary shiver ran through me, this time from the actual cold, which made Edward's head turn. His eyes widened. "Fuck, I didn't realise you weren't wearing a jacket, I'm sorry."

He immediately took off his coat and made me put it on despite multiple protests.

I was immediately enveloped by his scent. Even though I could recognise the cologne that a few of my friends wore as well, there was something else that I could only assume was just Edward.

I heard a chuckle escape his throat. "I see you like the coat."

 _Don't blush, don't blush, don't blush._

Another chuckle. "You're blushing!"

 _Oh for the love of..._

"It's warm," I said lamely.

"Mhm," he said with a raised eyebrow.

I turned to look in front of me, hoping to avoid his eyes, which had somehow gotten greener.

"Listen," he started. "I wanted to apologise for yesterday. I drank a lot to celebrate being free from college for a little while and got a bit carried away."

"You really don't have to apologise to me for drinking," I pointed out.

"I know but the drinking caused the extremely inappropriate behaviour, so I'm sorry."

I waved him off. "Don't worry about it, honestly."

Thoughts of him shirtless started to flood my mind, so I shook my head, hoping it would make them go away.

"Does your head hurt?" His voice was laced with concern.

"Yeah," I half-lied. It did hurt, but it was definitely not why I shook my head.

"My mum used to do this thing when I would get headaches, it used to help a little."

"Do it."

He furrowed his brows. "Seriously?"

I fully turned to face him. "Every little thing helps," I said.

He moved closer, and before I could register what was happening, he kissed my forehead three times.

As his lips met my skin, for a moment, for three small moments, I forgot that I was in pain.

* * *

Sorry for the late ass update, guys. Real life got in the way and kind of fucked things up for me for a while.

Just wanted to say thank you so much for the reviews, (keep them coming!) and a special thank you to BelleBiter for her review and message, which is the only reason this chapter is up today and not three weeks from now.

Love you guys.


	10. Chapter 10

"Mike?"

"Pass."

"Tyler?"

"Pass."

"Jake?" Emmett wiggled his eyebrows, making everyone laugh.

"No thank you, pass."

"Riley?"

"He's hot," I blurted out.

Alice sighed wistfully in agreement. Jasper rolled his eyes.

"Hm...Edward?" Jasper asked and pointed to Emerald, who was laying on the floor in front of me. His shirt had ridden up, exposing a very prominent Adonis belt. I quickly averted my eyes, but I could feel Alice's stare burning through me.

"Pass."

"That's just mean," Edward feigned hurt. "Am I no better than Mike?"

"You're my best friend's brother," I pointed out.

"Fair enough." I couldn't help but detect a little disappointment in his voice.

They continued asking for my opinion on potential dates for the graduation ceremony, but I shot down everyone but Riley. The majority of their options made no logical sense whatsoever.

"Guys, ninety percent of the people you suggested go to our school. Mike's going with Jessica and last I heard, Tyler asked someone as well. I'll just go solo. I'll tell everyone I'm roleplaying as a loner."

"First of all, you're not a loner. Second of all, either way you have to have a date for the afterparty. It's like a law," Alice said with way too much seriousness in her voice considering the topic, but the girl does not joke around about dating. Or parties.

"Isn't Riley studying medicine?"

"Yeah in England, I think," Emmett added as he got up, holding out a hand for Rose to do the same. "We gotta go pick up a few things for dinner tonight for ma. Wanna come?"

"I'll come," Jasper got up. "By the way, I'm pretty sure Riley has a girlfriend. I think her name's Victoria or something."

I tried to hide the slight disappointment from my face.

Alone it is.

"I'm gonna get a Coke," Edward said as he stretched his arms, exposing just a little more skin. "Want anything?"

It didn't escape my notice that the question wasn't directed at me at all. Alice shook her head.

He clicked his tongue piercing against his teeth all the way to the door.

"Sorry about the Riley thing, Bella. We just didn't want you to go alone. I'll double check the Victoria thing if you want?"

"It's okay," I shrugged. "I wasn't expecting anything and to be honest I'd rather go alone."

That was a lie, but forcing someone to unwillingly go with me seemed like it went against some form of human rights.

"As long as you're okay."

I nodded.

Charlie was definitely not going to show up for my graduation. The man barely remembered my existence unless I was at home, and I tried to cut that down as much as possible.

But, of course, Alice waved me off as soon as I brought it up. She insisted that Esme and Carlisle were coming for me as much as they were for their own children.

The real problem, she insisted, was the fact that I didn't have a date to the afterparty.

"It's setting a tone for the rest of your life, Bella. Your life can't be just you. You have to have a hot guy in there somewhere."

I scoffed. "If that's the case then no one's going to make it their 'tone' to be around me. I'm bad luck."

"I will," Edward said as he came back into the room. "In fact, I insist on taking you to the afterparty."

Alice and Edward shared a silent look. _What was that about?_

"That's settled then!" Alice quickly jumped up, not letting me interject.

To be honest, the idea of Edward taking me was...nice.

"Ed it's time for you to shoo. I have to help her pick out what to wear!"

Edward looked at his sister like she had grown a second head. "Alice, graduation's months away."

She waved him off and pushed him towards the door. "It's a girl thing," she yelled out after she slammed the door in his face.

"Any ideas for the dress?"

"Anything you think looks good, o wise one."

She glared at me. Sarcasm will get you nowhere, Swan."

Swan.

While she talked my ear off about the shades of pumps that would best compliment my hair, my mind drifted to drunk Edward calling me Swan.

Alice snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Anybody home?"

"Yeah, sorry. Just thinking about stuff." _Like your ridiculously attractive brother._

She nodded and pulled her chair directly in front of mine.

"Jazz is thinking of us all going on a Europe tour after graduation. He even promised to take me to any store I want in Paris!"

I laughed. "As if he'd have a choice, Al."

"True," she giggled. "Even Edward's thinking of going."

"That'll be fun."

"Yeah, it will. So," Alice started as she moved closer to me. "What are we gonna do about your intense crush on my brother?"

* * *

Do you hate me for ending this here because I'd hate me for ending this here.

Once again, thank you so fucking much for reviewing. They're better than coming home after a long day.


	11. Chapter 11

"...my what?"

Alice playfully narrowed her eyes at me.

Had I been that obvious?

Probably.

My subtlety skills are up there with my dance skills. Nonexistent.

"Oh come on," Alice said with an eye roll. "You stare at him with a little smile on your face every time he says something. And sometimes when he's just breathing."

I opened my mouth to reply but nothing came out. Brilliant.

I want to stab myself with a spork.

"Hey, I don't mind it at all, okay? Neither does Em, I promise."

I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding. "Okay.

Alice got up and started to put her makeup back into her drawers. "Are you gonna do anything about it?"

"No," I said immediately.

"Why not?"

I felt a tug on my heart as certain unpleasant memories flooded my brain. "It's not worth it."

"You can't turn people away because of what happened with your parents, sweetie." Trust Alice to know exactly what I'm thinking.

"I know. I'd just rather not tear your family up if it goes wrong."

"Why do you assume it will go wrong?"

"Because," I said as I traced the patterns on her quilt. "Everything I touch tends to break."

* * *

Hi! This teensy chapter is just to let you all know that I'm not dead, and am currently working on the next one.

Thank you for the reviews in my time of absence and a massive thank you to everyone at A Different Forest for naming Emerald as one of July's favourite fic dives!

I appreciate you guys endlessly.


	12. Chapter 12

Fortunately, living in a small town like Forks means that everyone knows each other, which means that trespassing isn't really a thing. So when Alice mentioned that Edward would be having lunch with us at school, I wasn't even surprised.

What I was, however, was jittery.

Sometime in the middle of my post-Sunday-evening-yelling-match shower, I had made the resolute decision to get over my mortifying interest in my best friend's older brother. But seeing Edward walk through the cafeteria doors and send his crooked smile my way suddenly made my decision irresolute to the point of nonexistence.

 _Pathetic._

"Well hello, children." I hadn't even noticed Emmett was with Edward until he sat down, nudging my shoulder with his.

"Riley broke up with his girlfriend," Rose said as she sat down next to Emmett.

"They were really cute together, why?" the disappointment evident in Alice's voice. She really liked Victoria.

"He said it was because he doesn't feel the same way anymore."

"They've been together for a year and a half, right?" Alice asked.

Emmett nodded.

"He's an idiot."

We all turned looked at Edward. "Why? They've been together for a while, it's pretty normal for it to fade."

He shook his head. "Love isn't the first year where everything is rosy and your heart flutters every time you see them, it's what comes after. Riley thought that the infatuation fading was him getting over her."

Edward didn't tear his eyes away from me when he said, "the idiot didn't realise that was him falling in love."

* * *

Happy new year?


	13. Chapter 13

I happen to be a very patient person.

Things like long queues, bad traffic and other common annoyance triggers do very little to irk me. This patience also extends to people, which is probably what has kept me from going completely insane living in a house with an abusive alcoholic for a father.

I have a few redeeming qualities but if there is one thing I can give myself credit for, it's my patience.

So when I say that Jacob Black had gotten on my last nerve, I mean that with every fibre of my being.

When I opened my locker after lunch and was assaulted by little notes.

"For God's sake," Alice threw her hands in the air. She picked the notes up from the floor and scanned the backs of them. "Jacob, Jacob, Jacob, Jacob and, wait for it, Jacob."

A deep breath in. A deep breath out.

"Dear Bella," Rose read out, deepening her voice to match his. "You looked good in the blue sweater you wore at the shop yesterday."

Another deep breath in. Another deep breath out.

"I know for a fact it would look better on my bedroom floor…" she trailed off, switching to a different note.

"What the _fuck_?"

Breathe.

"Thought of you last night when I came?!"

Breathe.

"Bella when did the notes get like this?"

Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

"A little while ago."

I could see the disappointment on everyone's face even without opening my eyes. "When were you gonna tell us? You know you could set the guys on him right? They'll- "

"They'll do nothing, Al."

Emmett scoffed. "The hell we won't. I'll punch that idiot into next week with one word, you know that."

"I know you will, I just don't want you to." I closed my locker, resisting the urge to slam it, and picked up the notes. I could feel Edward's stare on me, a silent unspoken plea to get me to look at him but I couldn't bring myself to do anything but to try and calm the burning feeling rising in my chest.

Then because my life is a series of cruel jokes, I heard _his_ laughter echoed by his football team clones, drawing closer and closer until he stood in front of me, his brown eyes burning into mine. Everything from his smirk to his cocked eyebrow and hand in his pocket made my blood boil.

Breathe.

"Good afternoon, little Swan," he bowed, his eyes trailing from the floor back to my eyes pausing a little too long at my chest.

Jacob snickered when he noticed my friends standing around me. "You have your own protection squad? It's pretty cute. Is your cop daddy gonna jump out and take a swing at me too?"

I chuckled. "Nah, nothing like that."

This seemed to appease him. He stepped closer until his chest was flush with mine. "Yeah? What's gonna happen instead, hm?"

"Well," I slid my hand from his chest up to his neck, lacing my fingers into his hair. "I'm finally gonna respond to all your notes."

"Good girl. How're you gonna do that?" He put his hand on my hip. I could see Alice gaping at me from the corner of my eye.

I smiled. "Like this."

Then I kneed him in the groin. _Hard_. He dropped to his knees, so I dropped to mine to look him dead in the eye. "It's not cute, it doesn't make you a player and it certainly does nothing to make you _not_ look like a desperate, sexually frustrated asshole. It's harassment. No, my 'cop daddy' won't jump out and take a swing at you," I scoffed at the idea of Charlie protecting me. "But I sure as shit have no issues doing so."

I leaned against my locker and stared at him until one of his friends helped him walk away, throwing a 'psycho bitch' my way.

"Okay," I looked down at my watch. "Al and I have history. We still on for tonight?" I asked.

Alice nodded, grinning. "Are you gonna knee me if I say no?"

I laughed, the weight finally coming off my chest. "Only if you promise not to make us watch the Titanic again."

"Deal," she giggled.

"Serious question," Emmet said as he put his arm around my shoulder. "Can I enlist you to tell off Rose when she forces me to stop talking about drag queens?"

Rose smacked him upside the head. "No, but I think I'll enlist _her_ to make you stop talking about them."

It didn't escape my notice that Edward hadn't taken his eyes off me the entire time, and pained me to admit to myself just how much I liked it.

* * *

A tear may have been shed for the reviews, alerts and favourites.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.


	14. Chapter 14

"Elle Woods is who I aspire to be," Edward said as he leaned back into the couch.

"That's a great dream, Eddie. I always thought you'd look pretty in pink." Emmett guffawed.

I laughed at the idea, causing Edward to playfully raise an eyebrow at me. "What? I think pink would look great with your tattoos!"

"Oh! I have just the thing." Alice ran off and came back with a massively oversized pink jacket.

Rose furrowed her brows, confused. "What do you do, swim in that? You're fairy-sized."

Alice rolled her eyes. "It's my period sweater."

As expected, the guys all groaned. "What? It's comfortable," Alice defended herself.

"Okay but why would you bring that out?"

She held it out to Edward expectantly. It took him a second to register what Alice was trying to get him to do. "Oh no."

"Oh yes," she squealed, tackling him with it. "Come _on_ don't be a baby!"

He huffed but his eyes softened. He reluctantly put the hoodie on. "Happy?"

She nodded triumphantly. "I am indeed, Elle Woods."

"Ed Woods?" I suggested, making Emmett cheer agreement.

Edward narrowed his eyes at me. "No more prom for you, missy."

I clutched my chest in mock hurt and then pretended to compose myself. "It's okay," I sniffled. "I'll be okay."

Alice reached over to smooth out his messy hair, pointing out that Elle would never be caught dead in a hairstyle like that. I couldn't help but notice how much it made him look like Carlisle. I smiled to myself.

As if sensing that I was thinking about him, Edward got up from the couch and sat in the empty bean bag next to mine. "Feeling any better?"

I nodded. "I am, thank you."

"You sure you don't want us to do anything?"

I shook my head. "Thank you but I think that'll just make it worse."

Edward smiled. "Okay. If you ever need anything, all you gotta do is tell Ed Woods. No predicament he can't get out of."

I chuckled. "How about getting out of that hoodie, for staters. Why d'you still have it on?"

Edward pouted, hugging himself. "It's soft, feel it."

He gently grabbed my hand and put it on his arm, making me stroke the sleeve with his hand on top of mine. I had brought a football player to his knees a few hours prior but it was taking more of my strength not to blush than it did to kick Jacob.

"Bella?" Esme walked into the room. I cleared my throat and pulled my hand back. We both sat up and turned to Esme.

"Charlie called. He said to go home immediately."

That's all it took to wipe the smile off everyone's face.


	15. Chapter 15

The front door swung open before I had the chance to turn the doorknob to reveal a seething Charlie. "Had fun at school today?"

I walked into the house in silence.

"Are you trying to ruin my reputation? I'm the fucking Chief. How do you think this makes me look?" The smelled of whiskey filled the house. When did he even manage to have a drink? He had just gotten off work. "What am I supposed to say to Billy when he comes over, hm?"

 _What I wouldn't give to not be having this conversation..._

"Sorry my daughter was a cunt to your boy for liking her?" He stepped closer. "I'm sorry she never paid attention when I taught her manners?"

 _When was the last time you taught me anything?_

"When I ask you a question," he hissed as he grabbed me by my hair, "I expect an answer."

"This is why your mother fucking left you!" he yelled, throwing me against the wall. My hand flew to my head.

 _She didn't leave me, she left you._

"Tell me, _Isabella_ ," he mocked. "When did you start thinking it was okay to beat up family friends?"

"Well, since it's apparently okay to beat your daughter in our family," either there was an earthquake or I was shaking. "I figured why not add family friends to the list?"

Anger

Rage.

Fury.

Wrath.

No word in the English language could describe what I was feeling, just as none could describe the look in Charlie's eyes.

I couldn't stop.

"Apparently it's okay to blame your child because your wife left _you_ ," I stepped towards him, "and apparently it's okay to punish everyone but yourself for you being an abusive piece of shit."

Red.

I was seeing red.

"So I thought for the first time in my life it would be okay to hurt someone else instead of someone hurting me."

My face was an inch away from his.

"She left _you,_ Charlie. She won't be getting a 'mother of the year' mug anytime soon but she sure as shit didn't leave _me."_

His hand flew to my throat, pushing me back against the wall. I tried to wriggle free, kick him, _anything,_ but I could feel myself start to faint.

 _Fight, Bella._

"Who fucking takes care of you when she's off somewhere with her new husband?!" he pressed even harder. _"_ I swear to _God_ I'm gonna make you regret being born."

The pain in my head was excruciating. I tried to choke out a 'let go' but everything in my body fought back.

The last thing I heard was someone yelling out Charlie's name and preventing my head from hitting the ground before everything went dark.

 _Emerald._


	16. Chapter 16

In my recurring nightmares Charlie strangled me to death.

There was no one around to hear what was going on, no one to help.

No one.

I was alone.

The only reason I was certain I wasn't dreaming was because I survived.

 _I think._

I was vaguely alert and could hear distant noises but whatever my state, I wasn't fully awake.

 _"...protect her..."_

 _"...not Esme..."_

 _"...absentee mother..."_

I couldn't register the full sentences, not consciously, but whatever the voices were saying made me uneasy. I could feel a knot forming in my stomach, growing from a dull sensation to one that snapped me awake, making me let out a strangled _no!_ before wincing in pain.

"Bella!"

I woke up to the nurse rushing in, Esme and Carlisle following behind. She gently pushed me back onto the hospital bed, explaining that it would take a little while for me to be able to speak. "It could have been much worse. As I understand your friends stopped it just in time."

 _Emerald._

I nodded and closed my eyes only to realise I had started crying.

"Oh, sweetheart." Esme picked up my hand and held it. "This never should have happened to you, I'm so sorry."

I shook my head, trying to say it wasn't her fault. "When you left none of us could rest, Edward especially because..." Esme trailed off, her eyes shifting towards the door. She sighed. "You'd always made it out of his episodes but something didn't feel right this time, we all felt it."

"You know how there's no stopping Emmett when he realises someone he cares about is being hurt?" I nodded lightly, remembering him punching Charlie. "Edward's worse. He was convinced we would finally be able to catch him doing something so the police would finally stop sitting on their behinds and _do_ something."

The ferocious protectiveness in Carlisle's voice made me smile.

 _I love this family._

"He was right," Esme said.

I stared at her, confused.

"You're free, Swan."

* * *

An infinite thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing and encouraging the story. A special thank you to Fran, without whose recommendation I would have likely left this story unfinished.

Thank you. So, so much.


	17. Chapter 17

Esme and Carlisle left the room with smiles.

 _Free._

I must have said that out loud because Edward nodded.

I looked at him.

 _Really_ looked at him.

Beyond the piercings, the tattoos and the scar near his eyebrow that I assumed he'd gotten trying to save me.

This man, this green-eyed man who turned heads wherever he went, whom I had only met recently, had just pulled me out of a world of pain.

"Why d'you do it?" I managed to croak out.

His brows furrowed. "He was hurting you."

"But you don't know me."

"So?"

I could tell he was trying to avoid answering me, so I kept looking at him.

He sighed, conceding. "My dad used to travel for work a lot when I was younger. Emmett was small, Alice hadn't been born yet," he explained, eyes fixed on his trembling hands. "There was a leak in the kitchen, so my mum called our landlord, Aro."

Edward clenched his jaw so hard I was worried it would break.

"I wasn't at home." I hadn't even realised I was holding his hand until I felt him run his thumb across the top of mine. He gave me a gentle smile. "He tried to rape her as 'payment for inconveniencing him," he laughed bitterly.

My heart constricted.

"She tried to fight him but he grabbed a knife and stabbed her abdomen, right here." He pointed to the area on himself. "That's when I came home."

 _I was his chance for a do-over? Was that it?_

I must have said that out loud, too, because he shook his head. I made a mental note to ask the nurse to switch my medicine to something that didn't break my filter.

"Please don't think that, Bella." He looked genuinely hurt by my assumption. "I can understand where you're coming from but it's not even close to why."

I shrugged.

He opened his mouth to say something but then closed it, changing his mind.

"I care about you, Bella."

Words couldn't describe the ethereal joy that spread from my heart to the rest of me.

"You're my friend."

And just like that, it was gone.


	18. Chapter 18

"That's not what he meant, Bella."

I sigh. "Drop it, Al."

Alice narrowed her eyes at me but stopped when she saw me touch my neck and wince.

The open door beckoned me to go through it to escape this conversation.

"It's stupid to be talking about this considering what happened."

I toyed with the edge of my cardigan. Alice and I sat on her bed, my eyes boring into her vanity across the room.

"I'm not trying to be a pain, Bella. I'm not having a conversation about your love life instead of the obvious one because I'm insensitive," she reached out and held my hand. "Charlieis something you choose to discuss as little as possible. I'm not sure if it helps you not to say it out loud, to never talk about it, and I can't pretend to know how to help you get through it so I'm just following your cues."

She sighed. "You actually talk about Edward. He's the one problem you talk about. "

I lowered my eyes.

"It was the first thing you told me when I saw you at the hospital. I think that says a lot."

* * *

Guess who's back?


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